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Top 10 Beaches to Visit This Summer

Grab your sunblock and snorkel and make a day of it on Hanauma Bay. (Photo: Alamy)

Grab your sunblock and snorkel and make a day of it on Hanauma Bay. (Photo: Alamy)

Take water. Add sand. Regular sand. Sandbox sand, even. Maybe a few fish? Trees? Sure. What do you have? A beach. A regular beach. Hmmm. There is an alternative: Spend your summer seeking only the globe’s most spectacular coastlines. Check out our list of the best beaches to visit this summer and step out of the bland and onto some of the coolest sands in the world.

Take a closer look at the ground — those sparkling bits are smoothed sea glass at MacKerricher State Park. (Photo: Alamy)

No beach sparkles more than Glass Beach — a set of three nope-that’s-not-sand stretches that were once, incredibly, city dump sites.

But the gross garbage is gone (goodbye, rusted toaster ovens and wonky car doors), leaving behind all the colors of the beach glass world.

How? The water snagged bottles and other glass bits from the dump during high tides, tumbled them about, and redeposited its handiwork on the beaches. Wander, look, snap photos, picnic; but careful now!

Starting from Salt Lake City, head to northwest Utah to get your float on atop the Great Salt Lake and under the watchful gaze of Antelope Island’s namesake mammals (and a bison or two).

From the white sand beaches, it’s water as far as the eye can see (it is one big lake) and plenty of vegetation, including grasses tall and short that the wildlife dines on.

The drive down the causeway that links the island to the mainland feels like a drive into the world’s largest painting, changing from soft watercolors on foggy days to bright oils when the grasses are at their greenest. Bring a kayak along for a lazy paddle around the lake.

8. Bishop’s Beach; Homer, Alaska

Fans of cold water will be up for a dip here, but swimming is far from the great joy of Bishop’s Beach. This is one of America’s best beaches for those who enjoy their sand with a side of mountains.

For a beach snack that can’t be beat, park up by Two Sisters Bakery, load up on baked goods and walk down the path that leads to Bishop’s. Pull up some driftwood and enjoy.

7. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Oahu

Bathing suit and coverup. Snorkel. Suntan lotion. Towel. Maybe flip flops. That’s the extent of what you’ll need for a day at Hanauma Bay. But even if you forget everything else, don’t forget the snorkel. (OK, bathing suit too. No getting arrested, please.)

A crescent-shaped beach of white sands surrounds a calm bay. Hanauma Bay’s coral reefs are extensive but shallow, offering the perfect hiding holes, playground and feeding stations for a colorful array of marine life — more than 300 species of fish call these waters home.

To enjoy this top 10 beach location in the summer, we recommend you get there early. It is, admittedly, very popular. But the snorkeling is divine.

The rock totems at Stanley Park may not always be entirely nature-made, but are stunners all the same. (Photo: Alamy)

One of the world’s best beaches offering something for everyone, Stanley Park features gardens, totem poles, bike trails and other fun.

Beach lovers will find much to enjoy at this local, easily accessible hang. Wander to the waterfront for a break from all of Vancouver’s go–see–do (it’s a truly awesome city). With nine park beaches to choose from — one even sits on the side of a freshwater lake — there’s no end of aaaaah in sight.

4. Orange Beach; Gulf Coast, Alabama

There is no must-do about Orange Beach. Well, almost none. Step onto the wide sands and your brain will say, “You must stay here forever.”

That may not be possible, but you’ll want to return time and again to try everything from advanced beach sitting (it’s practically a religion here) to parasailing. Finish your day with a dinner of royal reds, some of the tastiest shrimp you’re ever gonna have.

3. Boulders Beach; Cape Town, South Africa

A trip to Boulders Beach offers the chance to be a voyeur of a different kind — watching the antics of the local African penguin population. (They are a loud bunch.) Though there’s a good chance you’ll extend your stay to visit with those noisy locals, Boulders does offer other wonders, should you need more entertainment.

It’s super kid-friendly, with rock pools aplenty. Just make sure your kids don’t make playmates of the penguins; their beaks are far from kid-friendly.

No beach is kid friendlier than the well-named Heart’s Desire Beach. In a protected cove of white sand on Tomales Bay, the water stays flat and welcoming. Families with young’uns can get everybody in on the love of swimming in these warm waters.

After a dip and some sandcastle-building fun, wander the park’s hiking trail to one of California’s last remaining groves of Bishop pine trees. Watch for chipmunks and other forest critters along the way.

1. Pink Sands Beach; Harbour Island, The Bahamas

Pretty in pink in the Bahamas. (Photo: Alamy)

Read this in the soothing dulcet tones of a meditation tape. That, friends, is the instant effect of a walk down this 3.5-mile pale pink sandy beach.